Mitten with flippable outer palm section

ABSTRACT

A mitten design adapted to assume two configurations. In the first configuration, the mitten fits over the entire hand, fingers and thumb. In a second configuration, an outer palm portion of the mitten flips over onto a back portion of the mitten exposing portions of the fingers and thumb. When flipped over the outer palm portion lies neatly and generally flat over the back portion and is configured to be secured there without the use of hook and loop fasteners or any other fastening structure.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from the following U.S. provisional application: Application Ser. No. 62/153,101 filed on Apr. 27, 2015. That application is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to mittens and the construction of mittens.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Mittens are a popular hand wear during winter seasons. They are popular because they are comfortable, fashionable and warm. Conventional mittens, however, have one drawback. With conventional mittens, it is difficult to manipulate and use one's fingers and thumbs enclosed within the mitten. Some mitten designs require the complete removal of the mitten in order to perform simple tasks such as locating a car key among items within a purse.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a mitten having an outer palm section that can be pulled over the fingers and, in the process, reversed so as to expose the fingers and thumb without having to remove the mitten from the hand. Further, the reversed palm section lies generally flat along the back of the mitten and generally closely conforms to the hand to yield a neat and pleasing appearance.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and obvious from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings which are merely illustrative of such invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the mitten of the present invention shown disposed on a hand.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mitten shown in FIG. 1 but depicting the palm side of the mitten.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the mitten shown in a modified form which exposes the fingers and thumb of the hand.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the modified mitten showing the mitten from the palm side.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the mitten with portions of the outer palm section and the thumb sleeve removed to illustrate the inner palm section of the mitten.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

With further reference to the drawings, the mitten of the present invention is shown therein and indicated generally by the numeral 10. Mitten 10 can be constructed of various materials and may be constructed according to various construction techniques. In the way of examples, the mitten 10 can be either knitted or woven. It is preferred that the mitten be constructed in such a way that the mitten is at least slightly stretchable and compliant. It is preferred that the mitten design fit the hand and extend towards the wrist area and in some cases over the wrist area. The mitten is generally designed to comfortably conform to the shape of the hand.

Mitten 10 is designed to assume two modes or two configurations. In a first mode or configuration, the mitten 10 covers or encases the entire hand, including the fingers and thumb. See FIGS. 1, 2 and 5. In a second configuration, sometimes referred to as the modified mitten, the mitten is designed to expose the fingers and thumb such that the fingers and thumb can be easily manipulated and used without requiring that the mitten be removed from the hand. See FIGS. 3 and 4.

Turning specifically to the drawings, the mitten 10 is shown in FIGS. 1-5. Mitten 10 is an integrated fabric structure with the various component sections or portions discussed herein all forming a part of the mitten. FIG. 1 shows the back side of the mitten 10. Mitten 10 includes a back portion or section 12 that extends over the back of the hand, covering the back of the fingers and extends, in some embodiments at least, past the hand towards the wrist area and in some cases extends over the wrist area. Associated with the back portion 12 is what is referred to as an inner palm or intermediate portion or panel 14. See FIG. 4. The intermediate palm section 14 extends over the palm area of the hand and includes an outer terminal end 16 that terminates across the inner ends of the fingers. The precise location of the terminal end 16 is not critical. As will be discussed below, the terminal end 16 of the inner palm section 14 should be sufficiently located away from the tip of the fingers to allow the fingers to be easily manipulated when the mitten 10 assumes the configuration shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Formed intermediately in the inner palm section 14 is a thumb opening 18. When the mitten 10 is worn, the thumb extends through this thumb opening 18. From the drawings, it is appreciated that the back section 12 and inner palm section 14 form a sleeve that extends around the hand and, in some cases, a portion of the wrist area. Thus, the back 12 and inner palm section 14 can, in one embodiment, form a continuous piece of material or fabric. Referring to one portion as back 12 and the other portion as inner palm section 14 is for convenience in describing the location of these parts with respect to the hand and for describing their functionality. Note in FIG. 4 where the inner palm section 14 extends past the palm area of the hand and covers a portion of the wrist area. At the lower end of the mitten, as viewed in FIGS. 4 and 5, there is a terminal end 20 that forms a hand inlet. That is, when inserting the mitten 10 on the hand, the hand is inserted through the opening 20 that is formed by the back section 12 and the inner palm section 14. Hand inlet 20 is stretchable such that the hand can be inserted through the same and is sufficiently elastic or conforming to comfortably close around the wrist area.

Mitten 10 also includes what is referred to as an outer palm section 22. In the embodiment illustrated, the outer palm section 22 is connected to the back 12 and extends from the fingertips past the thumb opening 18 in the inner palm section 14 towards the terminal end 20 of the mitten. See FIG. 2. Also forming a part of the outer palm section 22 is a thumb sleeve 24. The thumb sleeve is disposed in close proximity to the thumb opening 18 formed in the inner palm section 14. This allows the user to easily thread his or her thumb through the thumb opening 18 into the thumb sleeve 24. In the particular embodiment illustrated, the outer palm section 22 includes a terminal end 22A that terminates short of the mitten terminal end 20. In addition, at the lower end of the outer palm section 22, as viewed in FIG. 2, there is an end portion that is referred to by the numeral 22B. As will be discussed subsequently herein, when transforming the mitten 10 from the configuration shown in FIG. 2 to the configuration shown in FIG. 3, this lower end portion 22B is grasped and used to make the transformation.

A pair of stretch sections 26 is integrated into the mitten design. Each stretch section 26 interconnects the back 12 with the outer palm panel 22. Thus, there is a stretch section 26 incorporated into each side of the mitten 10. The stretch section 26 can be constructed of various materials, including an elastic material, fabric, or other materials that are stretchable and which tend to have a memory that returns them to an initial position after being stretched. In the embodiment illustrated, the stretch section 26 is constructed of a fabric material and, in a preferred embodiment, the fabric stretch section 26 is more elastic or stretchable than other sections or parts of the mitten 10. That is, in a preferred embodiment, the stretch sections 26 are generally more elastic than the back 12 and outer palm panel 22. As will be discussed later, the function of the stretch sections 26 is to permit the outer palm section 22 to be easily flipped over the fingertips in order to produce the mitten configuration shown in FIGS. 3-4.

FIGS. 1, 2 and 5 show the mitten 10 in the first configuration where the mitten encloses the fingers and thumb. In placing the mitten 10 on one's hand, the hand is inserted into the opening 20 formed by the back section 12 and the inner palm section 14. The hand is pushed towards the outer terminal end of the mitten 10 and, in the process, the hand slides between the back 12 and the inner palm section 14. In this process, for this particular embodiment, one is careful by feel to locate the hidden thumb opening 18 and to push the thumb through the thumb opening as the mitten 10 is slipped over the hand. Once the thumb has been inserted through the thumb opening 18, then the thumb is aligned with the thumb sleeve 24 that, in the embodiment illustrated herein, forms a part of the outer palm section 22. The hand is continued to be pushed into the mitten 10 until the thumb of the hand is inserted into the thumb sleeve 24 and the fingers of the hand have reached a point in close proximity to the outer terminal end of the mitten.

In this embodiment, the back of the hand is covered by the back section 12 and the palm area of the hand is covered first by the inner palm section 14 while the outer palm section 22 overlaps the inner palm section. Thus, according to this example, some portions of the palm area are covered by a two-ply mitten construction.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the mitten 10 in the second configuration; that is the configuration where the fingers and thumb are exposed. In order to manipulate the mitten 10 to arrive at this configuration, the end portion 22B (shown in FIG. 2) is grasped and pulled upwardly as viewed in FIG. 2 towards the fingertips. In this process, the outer palm section 22 is reversed or, expressed in another way, during the process it is turned inside outward. In the process, the thumb is pulled from the thumb sleeve 24. Outer palm panel 22 is continued to be pulled towards the fingertips and back over the fingertips towards the back section 12. In the process, the fingers may be slightly curled to enable the outer palm section 22 to clear the fingertips. It is during this transformation of the mitten 10 that the stretch sections 26 perform their intended function. That is, the stretch sections 26 enable the outer palm panel 22 to be sufficiently pulled away from the back such that it is easy for the outer palm section to be reversed and flipped over the fingertips to arrive at the configuration shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In any event, the outer palm section 22 is continued to be pulled in a reversed orientation over the back 12 and towards the wrist area. Because of the fitted nature of the mitten design, the outer palm section 22 lies generally flat or relatively close against the back 12 of the mitten. This is illustrated in FIG. 3. Thumb sleeve 24 can project downwardly and occupy a space between the outer palm section 22 and the back 12. The design of the mitten 12 is such that the outer palm section 22 lies closely adjacent the back and does not require hook and loop fasteners or other types of fasteners to make the section 22 lie closely adjacent the back 12.

In the configuration shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, it is possible for a portion of the outer palm section 22 and the back 12 to project slightly across the back of the fingers. This will not interfere with the manipulation and use of the fingers. However, this portion of the outer palm section 22 and back 12 can be tucked in; that is, tucked in between the exposed outer palm section 22 and the underlying back 12.

There are numerous advantages to the mitten design disclosed herein. First, the mitten design provides for conventional use. That is, the mitten 10 is designed such that in one mode the mitten encompasses the fingers and thumb. Yet, the design of the mitten 10 enables the thumb and fingers to be exposed without having to remove the mitten. In the second mode or configuration shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer palm section 22 is reversed and now lies closely adjacent the back 12 in a neat configuration. There are no attachments required to closely secure the outer palm section 22 to the back 12 of the mitten 10. This orientation and disposition of the palm section 22 follows from the basic dimensioning, layout and design of the mitten 10.

The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other ways than those specifically set forth herein without departing from essential characteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein. 

1. A mitten adapted to be worn on a person's hand having fingers and thumb and wherein as worn on the hand comprising: the mitten configured to assume first and second configurations wherein in the first configuration the mitten covers the hand including the fingers and thumb of the hand and in a second configuration the mitten assumes a modified form which exposes the fingers and thumb of the hand; the mitten including a back portion that covers the back of the hand and the back of the fingers; an inner palm portion extending over a palm area of the hand and including an outer terminal end that terminates short of the ends of the fingers of the hand; a thumb opening formed intermediately in the palm portion; wherein the back portion and palm portion of the mitten form a sleeve that extends around the hand; a flip and reversal outer palm portion that joins the back portion and extends therefrom over inside portions of the fingers and extends over a substantial portion of the inner palm portion and past the thumb opening in the inner palm portion; a thumb sleeve formed in the outer palm portion that generally aligns with the thumb opening in the inner palm portion when the mitten assumes the first configuration; the outer palm portion including a terminal end; wherein in the second configuration the outer palm portion is flipped and reversed and lies inside outward over the back portion of the mitten, exposing the fingers and the thumb of the hand; and wherein in the second configuration the outer palm portion engages the back portion and is configured to lie flat along and adjacent the back portion so as to generally conform to the back portion of the mitten.
 2. The mitten of claim 1 including a pair of side stretch sections interconnected between the back portion and the outer palm portion.
 3. The mitten of claim 1 including a pair of side stretch sections interconnected between the back portion of the mitten and the outer palm portion of the mitten and wherein the side stretch sections are constructed of material different from the back and outer palm portion and wherein the side stretch sections are more elastic than the back portion and the outer palm portion.
 4. The mitten of claim 1 wherein in the second configuration the outer palm portion lies closely and snuggly against the back portion and does not require hook and loop fasteners or any other types of fasteners to secure the outer palm portion snuggly to the back portion of the mitten.
 5. The mitten of claim 1 wherein the sleeve formed by the back portion and the inner palm portion extends over a wrist area adjacent the hand.
 6. The mitten of claim 1 wherein the outer palm portion joins the back portion of the mitten along the fingertips and extends therefrom over and past the thumb opening in the inner palm portion.
 7. A mitten adapted to be worn on a person's hand having fingers and thumb and wherein as worn the mitten comprises: wherein the mitten is configured to assume first and second configurations wherein, in the first configuration, the mitten covers the hand and in a second configuration, the mitten assumes a modified form which exposes at least portions of the fingers of the hand; the mitten including a sleeve that fits over the hand and wherein the sleeve includes a back portion and a palm portion; a reversible flip integrated with the sleeve and configured to cover at least portions of the fingers in the first configuration; and in the second configuration, the reversible flip assumes an inside-out orientation and lies generally flat across the back of the sleeve and exposes at least portions of the fingers of the hand.
 8. The mitten of claim 7 wherein in the second configuration the reversible flip lies directly adjacent the back portion of the sleeve and adheres to the back portion of the sleeve due to elasticity incorporated into the mitten.
 9. The mitten of claim 7 including a pair of side stretch sections interconnected between the back portion of the sleeve and the reversible flip and wherein the side sections are constructed of material different from the sleeve and the reversible flip and wherein the side stretch sections are more elastic than the sleeve or the reversible flip.
 10. The mitten of claim 7 wherein, in the first configuration, the reversible flip extends from the back portion and around the fingers and overlies a portion of the palm of the hand. 